Creativity blooms at Glen Magna: New gardener tills inspiration

Zachary Navarro has poetry in his soul and flowers in his sight. And what could be more of an inspiration than Glen Magna Farms, where Navarro is the new Grounds Restoration manager?

Myrna Fearer/mfearer@cnc.com

Zachary Navarro has poetry in his soul and flowers in his sight. And what could be more of an inspiration than Glen Magna Farms, where Navarro is the new Grounds Restoration manager?

“I absolutely love the gardens here,” says Navarro, whose goal is to return the gardens to their original beauty, back to when the Endicotts owned it and also the time when the Danvers Historical Society, current owner, was in its prime. “What I look forward to is getting into restoration.”

But, as he says, the inclement weather, especially throughout much of May, delayed planting and cleaning up the beds. So now, he’s working twice as hard to make up for it and for the Glen Magna plant sale now going on, a difficult task since everything seems to be blossoming at once, including his allergies. But for this committed gardener, it’s just one nuisance he doesn’t really have time for.

Navarro came on board a little more than a month ago, replacing Cathy Gareri in the position. Gareri decided, as she says, to “make a contribution off her knees” (both of which have been replaced recently) and take over as operations manager. She’s more into seeking grants and the financial end of the day-to-day operations.

Gareri wasn’t quite sure when and how to make the transition until Zach (as he’s better known) Navarro serendipitously appeared.

“I was walking my sister’s dog on the grounds of the mansion,” says Navarro, who was with his girlfriend, Lauren Masciulli of South Windsor, Conn. Navarro was admiring the gardens at the same time when he spotted Roman Chrystycz,the live-in caretaker on the property, and asked him who took care of the gardens. He was referred to Cathy Gareri.

Though Gareri initially was looking for seasonal help, after meeting Navarro, she decided maybe it was time for her to turn over her trowel and change career paths, especially since the young man was more than qualified for the position.

After graduating from Danvers High School with the Class of 2000, Navarro, the son of Lorilyn and Paul Navarro of Danvers, went to the University of New Hampshire where he majored in English and minored in horticulture. After his freshman year in college, Navarro needed a summer job and went to work at Clark Farm, something he continued each summer.

In 2004, after earning his degree from UNH, Navarro and a high school friend, Beth Citroni, started a company they called The Gardeners. The two concentrated on perennial design and installation with the help of Adam Crawford, who had landscaping experience.

When Citroni moved to New York to study and Crawford went on to learn more about landscaping, Navarro continued the business but looked for another outlet for his talent. About a year and a half ago, he spotted a posting on the Internet. A large realty company in Chestnut Hill was looking for a horticultural designer.

“They didn’t want a landscaper, they wanted someone to design the perennial and annual gardens, someone who had experience as a landscape designer but also could get his hands dirty,” Navarro says. “It was an incredible responsibility. I was the only horticultural designer.”

When Navarro wanted a hands-on horticultural fix, he’d go out and physically plant bulbs in the ground or put in other flowers and plants. He directed crews, learning Portuguese from the workers whom he befriended, and enjoyed everything about the job. Another bonus was meeting his girlfriend. Misciulli, who was working in human resources while earning her degree from Northeastern University.

Not long ago, though he knew he would miss living in the Coolidge Corner area, Navarro had been thinking of reviving The Gardeners when he connected with Gareri. In the meantime, however, the writer and poet never gave up his first love, poetry. His second, he says, is horticulture.

“Horticulture is a love for sure,” he says. “But it’s also vocational. My poetry is number one.”

Navarro studied under some pretty prestigious poets at UNH but he also credits his teachers at Danvers High for their inspiration. He particularly praises former English teachers Toni Corkery, Kerry Brown and Brendan Halpin, the last described by Navarro as a widely read author. Checking on the Internet, one finds Halpin is the author of five books.

Navarro also studied at the Vermont Studio Center near Stow, where he had a residency scholarship and hopes to apply for another one in the near future but in another state.